Winter
by say hello to the angels
Summary: Donna mentions skiing, so the Doctor takes her to a planet that's perfect for it. Unfortunately, the two of them attract trouble even when they're not trying to... Actually, they attract trouble especially when they're not trying to...
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Winter**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it!**

**Summary: Donna mentions skiing, so the Doctor takes her to a planet that's perfect for it. Unfortunately, the two of them attract trouble even when they're not trying to... Especially when they're not trying to...**

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Donna was freezing. The air was frigid and the suns around this planet were starting to go down, which meant that the temperature would drop even further. She growled angrily as she stabbed at the snow with a piece of a broken ski, trying to break some of it away so that she could form some sort of shelter. The wind had started to pick up and the tiny bits of ice caught in the air were rushing past her, stinging at her face and hands.

With the Doctor's long jacket wrapped around her, she piled up the snow that she'd broken loose and packed it into the shape of a low wall. Carefully adding more to the sides, she was able to form a half circle that blocked the wind more fully. Exhausted and very sore, she collapsed against the snow wall and pulled the Doctor's jacket around her to ward off the cold. With a shivering sigh, she thought back to how this mess had began.

She had been wandering around the console room of the TARDIS as the Doctor tinkered with some wiring, and she'd started rambling about family vacations that she used to go on. Donna had just started to describe the trips to the mountains and going skiing and how much she missed it when the Doctor jumped up before her excitedly.

"That's what we'll do, Donna!" he had exclaimed.

"What's that?" she asked, not having a clue as to whether he'd been listening to her or thinking of something completely different. It was usually a pretty good gamble for either option. It turned out he had been listening to her this time, though.

He had graced her with a bemused look and said, "You humans... how is it that you can talk and talk and not even be paying attention to what you're saying..."

She'd merely rolled her eyes and said, "Same way some aliens can talk and talk and yet say absolutely nothing worth listening to."

"Winter! We'll go there!" he had declared, pulling on knobs, levers, and pushing at buttons on the console as the ship's engines came to life.

"Isn't winter a season?" Donna had asked while clinging to the console as they flew through time and space.

When they had landed he'd explained with excitement, "The planet Winter, located in the constellation Canes Venatici, nearly 23 million light-years from your home, Donna! Soon to become one of the universe's most popular ski resorts, though not for a hundred or so years. They put too many restrictions on where you could ski..."

"And everyone knows that safety restrictions are rubbish," she'd added sarcastically.

She had moved to the door but he quickly diverted her to the wardrobe where they grabbed skis, gloves, snow pants, and winter jackets. Following that, she'd nearly run out the doors of the ship in anticipation of an adventure that wouldn't be anymore life-threatening that the ones she'd gone on with her family.

Donna really needed to learn not to even think those kinds of cliched statements.

They had stepped outside, set the skis and warm winter clothes down in the snow, and immediately been awestruck by the view. In each direction, high mountain peaks stretched up so high that they appeared to hang almost directly above them. At the same time, the Doctor and Donna could make out deep valleys reaching away from them below their eyes.

The landscape was covered in snow, but Donna was amazed to see that it didn't appear completely white. The color of the sun – the two suns, she'd soon realized – made the snow sparkle and reflect back slightly different shades depending on what angle they were facing it from. The suns weren't the same color, and therefore cast both a lighter shade in some spots and a darker shade in others.

She had turned to thank the Doctor for bringing her to this gorgeous place when a clump of snow hit her in the face lightly. Donna sputtered and then glared at the alien who was laughing at her indignant look.

"Right. You're a dead martian," she'd declared before chasing him past the TARDIS, their skis, and the warm jackets. She picked up snow to throw at him as they ran. The snowball fight that ensued was a chaotic mess as they both tried valiantly to hit the other. After a few minutes, Donna was able to successfully hit the Doctor in the back of the head with a snowball. He fell over dramatically, laughing, and she moved in closer to finish the job.

Just as she got up next to him, he jumped up and shoved a handful of snow down her shirt. She shrieked loudly and smacked him before jumping in place to get the snow out of her shirt.

"Donna..." she had heard him say distractedly.

"Bugger off," she'd said as she shook bits of snow out of her shirt.

"Donna!" that time his voice was an urgent whisper and he had grabbed her arm to pull her closer to him.

"What!?" she'd shouted, stepping away from him and glaring.

She had barely met his eyes when she felt a steady vibration grow stronger in the snow under her feet. Donna turned and followed the Doctor's gaze to the massive sheet of snow and ice that clung high up the slope near them. It was shifting and the surface looked to be alive as it burst with movement.

The Doctor had quickly tugged on her arm and ordered, "TARDIS! Now!"

With one last glance back at the rapidly approaching cloud of snow and ice, Donna turned and bolted for the blue police box. They'd ran as fast as they could but it wasn't enough. Just twenty feet from the ship, the two were swept off their feet by the avalanche. Donna hadn't know which way was up as they were tossed and turned in every different direction. She had gripped the Doctor's hand in hers as tightly as she could, but after a violent shift in the snow and ice around her, she felt his hand ripped from hers.

She wouldn't be able to recall all that had happened in the next few minutes as she put all her effort into trying to breathe and pulling her arms and legs closer to her body. They didn't get hit with chunks of ice as much that way, though several did collide with her back and head. When the avalanche finally stopped, Donna had let out a shaky breath and kept her eyes closed. She had fully believed that she had been about to die while tumbling about in the cold.

It had only been after she had drawn in several steadying breaths of air that she actually realized that she had air. She'd opened her eyes to see bright blue lines of light peaking through the snow above her. With a great deal of effort, she'd managed to pull her arms up above her face and push against the snow, but she wasn't strong enough to shift it.

Donna had laid in that position for a while, taking careful assessment of her injuries, grateful that nothing seemed horribly wrong yet. She almost didn't hear as her name was called out from above her.

"Doctor!" she had called, though a bit quieter than she'd wanted to. The last time she'd shouted, the side of a mountain had come down on them.

He had called back to her, promising to get her out as soon as he could. She had waited as patiently as she could while he used his hands to lift chunks of snow and ice off her and scoop away the snow around her. When he had finally freed her, she had let him pull her into his arms and hold her for a few minutes. She had thought that she couldn't be happier to see his skinny alien self, despite the bruises and cuts that covered him. She knew that she looked no better.

Together, they had stumbled through the rough terrain of snow and ice until they found a small area that was flatter than the rest. On their way, the Doctor had found a piece of one of the skis that they'd been ready to use earlier and handed it to her.

"I've got to find the TARDIS before nightfall," he'd said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking out over the expanse of turned up snow that the avalanche had left. Donna had been about to make a rude comment about his wonderful tour-guide skills when he pulled off his long brown jacket and handed it to her.

"Try to stay warm," he had said, and she had nodded in response. "I'll come let you know when I find her," he had added, reaching into a pocket for his favorite tool. A moment later the sonic screwdriver was heard as the Doctor wandered back out over the snow in search of it while Donna set to work on building something to protect herself from the wind.

Donna groaned as she considered the day. The Doctor had departed nearly twenty minutes ago and she had gotten cold enough to start work on her miserable little shelter, cursing this planet as she did so. Never again would she desire a ski trip as a form of relaxation or adventure.

The wind picked up even more as she leaned against the wall and she started to wonder just how long it would take the Doctor to find his ship. She didn't want to think about where it could have ended up or what state it was in. The fact that the two of them were relatively alright, aside from the scratches and bruises that littered them, still amazed her.

Donna glanced up at the sky that was thankfully clear of clouds and noticed the elevation of the twin suns. One appeared to be only a couple of hours from the horizon, while the other wasn't far behind it. She looked out at the snow and ice and wondered if she shouldn't have gone to help the Doctor find his ship.

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**This will be a two-shot, which means the next chapter will be the last one. Review if you want the Doctor and Donna to live... and review if you want them to die!**

**Review? Please? :) Should I kill everyone? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Winter**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it!**

**Summary: Donna mentions skiing, so the Doctor takes her to a planet that's perfect for it. Unfortunately, the two of them attract trouble even when they're not trying to... Especially when they're not trying to...**

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Donna was going to kill that bloody alien.

That was her current solution to the problem so far, as unhelpful as it would actually be. She couldn't really help it though. Her fingers were frozen, her ears felt like they were on fire due to the stinging wind, and the Doctor still hadn't come back. It had now been about thirty minutes since the he had left in search of the TARDIS, and she was counting the pros and cons of going in search of himnow.

Finding him and shoving some snow down his shirt was definitely a pro.

Getting herself lost in addition to the ship was definitely a con.

She was just about to decide that she couldn't possibly get any colder if she were to get up and at least move around when the Doctor made an appearance.

"I found her!" he exclaimed, stumbling through the chunks of ice and snow that covered the hill they had been deposited on by the avalanche. Donna glared at him from where she sat against her little shelter that she'd constructed. He still had a layer of snow dusting all over himself except for where it had melted, soaking the ends of his pants and the ends of the sleeves of his pin-stripe jacket. She wasn't much better off; after sitting in the snow, her pants were almost entirely soaked. She tugged his long brown coat more tightly around herself.

"And the reason you didn't bring it back here is...?" she asked, hoping that he wouldn't give her a horrible answer. The last thing they needed was to find out that the TARDIS had been swept off into a crevasse or something.

At her question, he stepped forward and grabbed the broken ski. "Oh, it's about forty meters that way," he said, pointing behind him and down the hill a short ways. "And then it's about three meters that way," he said, pointing straight down.

Donna groaned. "Isn't there any way you could just summon it up here?" Not that digging the TARDIS out from under three meters of snow and ice didn't sound fun...

"Not really..." he answered, and she could tell that he was as happy about the situation as she was. "But it's got to be done, and I figure we have about three hours before it'll be too cold to even attempt it, so I've got to get started."

"Do you want me to help?" she asked, moving to stand up. She really hoped he'd say no, since there was no way she'd have enough energy to actually be useful.

"You should probably come with. I don't want you sitting here by yourself when you're that cold."

She was about to reply that she wasn't cold when she realized that she couldn't actually feel her fingers or toes. Tiredly, she nodded and reached up a hand towards him. He leaned forward and pulled her upright before leading her across the uneven snow and ice to where the TARDIS was presumably located.

The suns were reaching the horizon and she could tell that the Doctor wanted to move faster. Donna yawned as they reached the location and he helped her sit down stiffly against some large chunks of snow that blocked the wind. She once again wrapped herself up in his long coat and watched as he stepped a few feet away and began shifting the snow and ice.

She felt herself shiver and wondered how long it would take him to get down to the ship. She still needed to shove some snow down his shirt as revenge for what he'd done earlier. If he thought that he'd blame all this on her, then she'd be very happy to correct him, since it was his action that made her shriek so loudly.

Donna pulled the jacket up closer to her chin and stared out at the setting suns. This close to the horizon, they almost looked like they were tinted purple. A few stars were beginning to show in the sky above her and she idly picked out shapes amongst them. None of the constellations were recognizable, but one looked like a box. Donna smiled tiredly and thought that it should be a constellation named after the TARDIS. She wondered if more stars would show up as it got darker and fill in the spaces where the windows were on the ship.

With a sigh, she called out, "Doctor?"

He didn't respond right away, and she all but forgot that she'd called for him. Donna closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the snow, noting that it didn't seem quite as cold anymore.

It felt like only a moment had passed when something touched her cheek and she heard a distant noise come over the snow. There was movement around her, and she could feel a soft material stretching over her back before she was leaned back against the snow. A whirring sound made her jump slightly and she opened her eyes groggily.

"Donna?" a voice asked a bit frantically, hovering around her. She could only think of one person that would disturb her when she was this tired.

"G'way, bloody alien," she muttered.

"Come on, I've got a path to the TARDIS, but I can't really carry you down there," his voice sounded, and she was so ready to go to sleep again.

Donna could almost feel him run a hand through his hair in frustration. The next thing she knew was that hands were rubbing the skin of her arms rapidly. Though some logical part of her brain knew that he was only trying to warm her up, the larger, more illogical part of her brain snapped awake and lashed out, as did her palm. Thankfully for him, her aim was a bit off due to the cold and he was able to dodge it.

"Stop molesting me!" she growled.

"Then get up!"

"I'll get up when I feel good and ready to," she muttered, opening her eyes to glare at him and feeling the cold hit her again. She shivered violently and pulled on his coat again. He knelt before her in the snow and she noticed that he had removed his pin-striped jacket, leaving only his white shirt and tie exposed.

The Doctor stood up and said, "Come on, Donna. Time to go climbing through the snow!"

She sat up straighter and realized that he had replaced her previous jacket with his pin-striped one, which was much drier than hers had been. Still shivering, she grasped his hands and let him pull her upright. Her legs were so frozen that she was amazed she could even stand up on them. He held onto her shoulders and looked into her face closely.

"You suddenly forget what personal bubbles are again?" she snapped, wishing she had the strength to stand up on her own.

He smirked at her and pulled her after him through the snow, which was lit by a bright moon. She wondered when it had risen. Slowly, they made it to the area above where the TARDIS was buried and she groaned at the narrow hole that went almost straight down through the snow and ice.

"Just use your feet to lower yourself down, one step at a time," he instructed, letting her go before him. She didn't protest as he kept a hand gripped on her arm as they started to descend through the ice. She could see the snow around her because he had made it to the TARDIS earlier and opened the door, letting light stream out steadily.

The two of them traversing onwards made the opening seem even narrower, and as tired as she was, she nearly panicked when she couldn't move easily enough. She'd never imagined herself as being a person that was likely to feel claustrophobic in any sense of the word, but she couldn't find a better explanation for this. The Doctor's grip on her arm never ceased and she ground out, "I want out," over and over.

"We'll go somewhere open then," the Doctor responded in a calm voice. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to listen to him speak while trying to calm herself down. The walls of ice on every side of her weren't helping.

"I've got it! The Great Barrier Reef. We'll go there. Lots of sun and open water. Did you know that reef's the largest structure built by living organisms on Earth?"

She didn't know that but she was hardly listening. It felt like the snow and ice around them was inching closer and squeezing in on her.

"I suppose you might not enjoy it though. Reefs are just masses of limestone made up from skeletons of millions and millions of tiny plants and animals. But the exploring! All sorts of fish and animals to find and observe. Or if you want to just lie on the beach and relax, then you could do that," he trailed off.

She started to actually listen to his words, but drawing up a mental image of anything other than snow and ice was difficult.

"Only threats to reefs are you humans! Well, that and coral bleaching..." he added. "Well, and outbreaks of certain species... But what are the odds of those?"

She turned to look at him, finding that he had moved as far as he could from her to give her space while still holding on to her tightly. The Doctor smiled at her and asked, "That sound better?"

She thought on it for a moment and finally responded, "You're an idiot."

He adopted an affronted look and exclaimed, "I'm a genius!"

"No, you're an idiot. You forgot another threat to reefs."

He glanced to the side and slowly shook his head at her.

She smiled at him and explained, "Tsunamis. Knowing our luck..."

"Ah, well..." he said, grinning down at her. "What are the odds that one of those'll happen?"

"Again. You're an idiot."

He just shook his head with a smile and helped her go down the remaining distance to the door of the TARDIS. When they finally made it through, she collapsed on the floor just inside the doors. The Doctor stepped over her and sank to the floor next to her. They sat like that for a few minutes before the Doctor prompted her to go get changed into warmer clothes before she froze to the floor of his ship.

After somehow figuring out how to pour herself a hot bath and soaking in it for longer than was really necessary, she ambled out of her room and down to the TARDIS' kitchen. Pouring two cups of tea, she made her way back to the console room only to find it empty.

She didn't have long to wait before the Doctor ran in after her, talking rapidly about how she'd been right about needing to turn the heat on inside the ship. Donna just smirked into her teacup.

Thinking back to their impromptu adventure, she looked up at him and smiled. He was good enough at acting like a daft and thoughtless spaceman, but he could also be more caring than she'd ever really give him credit for. As he checked on things near the console, she considered thanking him for how he'd looked after her. It would've been too easy for her to just freeze to death on her own.

Suddenly, he turned to her and said, "You know, we could just fly the TARDIS to a different hill on this planet and find a safer place to ski. We've got to have more skis somewhere."

He kept rambling about skiing, oblivious to her flabbergasted expression. She glared at him as he continued talking about moving the ship to another location and finally got up and walked to the doors. Gone were her previous thoughts about how sweet he could be.

"Donna?" he called. "We're still stuck under the snow. Can't ski here."

She ignored him. Opening the door slightly, she grabbed a large handful of snow and then shut the door. The Doctor had resumed his speech and didn't notice as she walked back up to him. The resounding yelp as she shoved the handful of snow down under his jacket and shirt was enough for her though.

"That's cold!" he shouted, trying to get the snow out of his shirt as fast as he could.

She grinned evilly at him and said, "Which is exactly why we're not going skiing. Let's go to Barcelona. There's hot temps in the summer and loads of normal tourist things to do."

"And dogs with no noses!"

Donna was so tempted to shove him out the door of the TARDIS right then. She probably would have if it weren't for the stupid grin that he threw at her.

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**Done! I thought about letting them both freeze to death, but then I decided that I wasn't that mean. I hope this was acceptable :) Let me know what you thought!**

**Please review review review! :D**


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